Under the Dome

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Raul Esparza

Length: 34 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when - or if - it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens - town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing - even murder - to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn't just short. It's running out.

©2009 Stephen King (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Very tense

Would you consider the audio edition of Under the Dome to be better than the print version?

Absolutely. Raul Esparza's reading of this was the only reason I purchased it. I think I would have had difficulty trudging through some of the aggravating parts, but in audio form you can just wince and keep on going.

Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen King? Why or why not?

Oh yes. I like a lot of his work. I just get frustrated when some of his characters are a bit too evil and lucky.

Which scene was your favorite?

The kids doing the recon on their bikes. I was like that when I was a kid.

If you could rename Under the Dome, what would you call it?

I liked the title. Sylvia Plath already used "The Bell Jar", which would have been appropriate here. I guess "Contained".

Any additional comments?

It was good and entertaining.

Fantastic

There are a lot of people talking about plotics?!? WHY??? THIS IS A BOOK!! A FICTION BOOK!!! Now if you don't like it that's one thing, you have a right to your opinion, but wow!!!! I read fiction to escape... I thought it was funny that a Republican ran a newspaper publication called the Democrat. Ppl always have to make a big deal about things....


I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator.... he had several characters to do and he did most of them quite well...Seriously, Reny, I laughed so hard when I first heard his voice, I could picture that fat lazy man..... He wasn't as good at the female voices as I'd like but I still enjoyed it..

The story caught me from the very beginning and didn't let me go. It is a very good listen

Excellent

I am so glad to have Stephen King back. Wonderful to listen to and keeps you on the edge. Well written and well spoken.

Highly impressed! Not your typical Stephen King!

Raúl Esparza does a fabulous job in narrating a multitude of characters in a story not typical of Stephen King. While not a creepy horror or bone-chilling suspense, this book keeps you captivated. Mr. Esparza's performance is brilliant, switching back from every type of person you can think of in mere seconds. Not only do the stereotypes of these characters have you wondering about this place, but then Stephen King throws in some lines that will have you laughing out loud. Again, not typical of classic King novels. From the sample, I didn't think this was going to be for me, but I was truly glad I purchased and listenEd. It may be long, but I went almost straight through, finishing in 2 days.

1st sentence was the best then he wrote another

From the very first line of the book, King had me. I have never been a big fan of Stephen King. I was always too scared to read his books because my sister read IT and she ruined sleep for me for 4 years after. I enjoyed some of his movies, Pet Sematary, Misery, The Shining, but I couldn't bring myself to read any of his novels. I love documentaries, political fiction and historical fiction but mostly documentaries. Huge history nerd. a friend recommended the netflix mini series about JFK written by King. When I watched 11/22/63 I was as hooked. I started looking for other movies that were made from his novels, the ones that weren't scary. I had no idea King wrote Stand By Me and The Green Mile. I read 11/22/63 then The Stand. This is the first time I have taken the time to review one of his books. Under the Dome grabs the readers attention from sentence number one and doesn't let go until King finishes reading the afterward. Espazaro did a really good job reading this book, the way he was able to change his voice from the gruff and scratchy bully to a 4 year old little boy or 9 year old little girl without missing a beat is amazing. Stephen King has a new fan and it only took 32 years and a book about stopping the assassination of JFK to get me here. Well done.

Just Keep Listening

I didn't love it at first. It was long, but worth the ending! Just keep listening and you won't regret it!

First SK book

This being my first Stephen King book, and my first book about the lives of an entire town of people, not just a few main characters and their background characters, i really enjoyed it. At first I had to get use to the chapters and writing style with so many different people and perspectives, but after getting use to that the book flowed very well and I could really envision every little detail.

Great book.!

great book but hated ending

I really enjoyed this book but ending could be much better and longer. it seems like a common criticism of mine for king books.

Interesting but bleak

I nearly "put this book down" because so many of the characters in the story were just unbelievable - ignorant, brutish, hyper-religious, callous, and downright sociopathic. But things settled down after awhile and Under the Dome became a dystopian tale, a contrast between the power-hungry, manipulative, ignorant, and fearful with a free-thinking, curious, resourceful few. The source of the dome provides an interesting twist on an old episode from the Twilight Zone. For the most part I didn't enjoy this book but in some weird way the ending was redeeming. Would I recommend it...I don't think so.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

This is an absolute enthralling story of how one bad egg infects many. Be prepared for rollercoasters of anger and the overwhelming hunger for justice. Don't let the length of the story deter you from experiencing this fantastic story, just like every Stephen King novel, every sentence builds towards a wicked outcome. I personally will say that the ending of this story seemed cut short to me, as though there was not as much thought to it as there was to every other detail. When a villain gets what karma has coming for them is so satisfying to me, however; I felt left to be satisfied with only a drop on my tongue.

The narrator is especially gifted at crafting unique and spot on characters for every soul in this story. Stephen is known for allowing many to have lives that intertwine into each other that we, as the reader, only get to know for a short period or through the entirety of novel. Esparza does not revive old voices for those who have been lost in the story. Emotion is also a key quality for visualizing the actions and expressions of characters we can only see in our minds eye; Esparza does this with beautiful diction and artistically crafts every person uniquely. Of course, we can also say thank you to King for never leaving anything to interpretation when it comes to the universes he crafts in his story. I am from a small town myself and the actions that take place are all too familiar for me. This makes this story almost real for me, the reality that it is possible.

To those about to enter this world, prepare yourself for wrong becoming right and vulgarity to the finest and minute detail. Also, place yourself mentally into this town and grasp the substantial predicament that falls itself onto the characters (and figuratively) into yours as well. How would you respond in this situation? What would you do differently?